Sharon Van Etten, ‘Are We There’

Aidin Vaziri | Sharon Van Etten’s gorgeous new album, “Are We There,” ruminates over a crumbling relationship in great detail – but don’t let that put you off. The Brooklyn singer-songwriter tempers her agony with lush production, beautiful melodies and unimpeachable wit. “Break my legs so I won’t walk to you/ Cut my tongue so I won’t talk to you,” she sings in her smoky voice on the thorny “Your Love Is Killing Me.” The breezy beat of “Our Love,” meanwhile, makes it sound like a down-tempo club ballad, and “Break Me” carries a sweet dream-pop lilt letting some light through the gloom. The most telling song, however, may be the one that begins with the invocation, “Maybe something will change/ Maybe something will change.” It is called “Nothing Will Change.”